Toronto, Canada/New York – The Banff World Media Festival announced that it will honour the global media company A+E Networks as its esteemed Company of Distinction at the annual event, taking place 7-10 June 2015 at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel in Banff, Canada.
Introduced in 2013 with CBS Corporation and continued in 2014 with Lionsgate Entertainment, the Company of Distinction Programme is an opportunity for the Festival to pay homage to a prestigious company demonstrating significant leadership in the world of screen-based entertainment. As 2015’s Company of Distinction, A+E Networks’ executives, producers and talent will be featured throughout the four-day Festival.
A+E Networks was founded in 1984 and began as two cable channels. Thirty years later, it is the global entertainment industry with a portfolio of brands including A&E, History, Lifetime, H2, FYI, and LMN. A+E Networks’ premium content pushes boundaries, and crosses borders and platforms. With an original, fiery entrepreneurial spirit, the company reaches over 330 million viewers in more than 180 territories worldwide and 500 million digital users. A+E Networks has built an impressive roster of shows across multiple genres. The company is responsible for a number of iconic series including Pawn Stars, Storage Wars, Dance Moms, Duck Dynasty, Vikings, The Bible, and Bates Motel.
A+E Networks has also produced a number of independent feature films, and exhibits creative ingenuity in digital distribution, home and family entertainment. Last year, the company launched A+E Studios, giving the organisation the ability to ultimately produce and own more of its scripted content. As the only ad-supported non-sports network with TV Everywhere video apps on iOS, Android, Kindle Fire HD, Roku, Xbox 360, Apple TV and Amazon Fire, A+E Networks has hit over 22 million Watch Apps downloads to-date across mobile and over-the-top platforms. In September, A+E Networks acquired a 10% minority stake in VICE Media.
The Banff World Media Festival recognises A+E Networks as this year’s Company of Distinction as it continues a shared passion for putting “people, programming and partnerships at the centre of everything”.
“A+E Networks undoubtedly deserves the honour of Company of Distinction,” said Barb Williams, President of Shaw Media and Chair of the BANFF Board of Directors. “Their inventiveness has led to a visionary global media approach and we are thrilled not only to celebrate their triumphs, but to benefit from their extensive industry experience.”
“We are very excited to be presented with this wonderful honour at BANFF,” said Sean Cohan, Executive Vice President, International for A+E Networks. “As one of the world’s leading television and digital media content events, BANFF’s entrepreneurial values align very closely with A+E Networks’, and we are thrilled to have our executives and talent attend this year’s Festival to celebrate how far we have come.”
